


Kid Cable and Kid Deadpool

by cutielemon07



Series: Marvel Elementary [2]
Category: Cable and Deadpool, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: AU, Blood, Deadpool whump, Fighting, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Inhumans (Marvel), Kid Fic, Single Parents, Superpowers, Time Travel, War, Whump, badass mentor, cable whump, human cloning is not a good idea, injuries, nasty details, summers family, weird uses for duct tape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-13 20:39:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4536534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutielemon07/pseuds/cutielemon07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wade Wilson is growing up rapidly with his best friends Nathan, Bob and... Weasel. What adventures will they get into inside and out of school? Kid AU.<br/>Spinoff from my Marvel Elementary story and will crossover at points.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meetings

Kate Summers walked down a hospital hallway, looking down at her feet and watching her steps, counting them, until she reached her son Nathan's hospital room. She ground to a halt when she got there and looked up to see a male nurse standing in the doorway.

"Mrs Summers, while you were gone, we changed some of Nathan's bandages." He said. Kate felt like she had been punched in the gut, but she carried on.

"Right." She said, nodding slowly. "Any change in his condition?"

"He's noticed he's without an arm now, he knows it's been amputated." The nurse said sympathetically.

"He's upset, isn't he?" Kate winced.

"He is indeed, Mrs Summers." The nurse nodded. "He needs his mother."

Kate swallowed and nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. The nurse walked away and Kate walked inside to her son. She saw Nathan was sleeping and picked him up off his hospital bed. "Nathan, it's me, it's Mommy." She said soothingly as she sat down in a chair.

"Mommy?" He looked up at her and her heart broke at having to look down into her son's dead left eye. "When will I get my arm back?"

Kate couldn't bring herself to tell him that he would never. "You'll be getting a better arm soon, sweetie." She said with a fake smile, desperately trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"I can still feel it there, Mommy. My arm. I can feel it there. It hurts, Mommy."

"I know it does, sweetie." Kate breathed and began running her hand gently through Nathan's hair.

Nathan wrapped his arm around Kate's neck and also nestled his head into her shoulder. "I feel like I'm hugging you with my other arm too, Mommy." Nathan said sadly.

Desperately wanting to soothe her toddler, Kate rubbed his lower back, taking great care not to disturb the thick layers of bandaging around Nathan's chest and back. "It's going to be okay, Nathan, I promise."

"I told you, Mommy. My name's not Nathan. It Cable." Nathan mumbled. He sniffled sadly into his mother's shoulder.

"Okay, okay. _Cable_ , I promise you, everything will be alright." Kate said, feeling Nathan nod into her shoulder.

Kate couldn't help but feel that she should be feeling Nathan's little shoulder pressing into her chest. Instead, his arm, his shoulder, parts of his chest-it had all been cut away in an attempt to save his life. It had obviously worked, even if her tiny toddler had been in a coma for fourteen weeks, fighting meningitis. He'd won his fight, Nathan was alive. But why was she so sad about it?

"Kate." She heard her name being called and looked to see her husband Chris standing away from them. "How is he?"

"Upset." She said back. "Chris, you need to be looking after Gabe and Scott and Alex and Rachel. Let meworry about Nathan."

"Cable." Nathan corrected, his voice muffled.

"Right. Cable."

"But Nath- _Cable_ is my son too, Kate." Chris said, walking into the room, up to his wife and son. "I just spent the better part of three months watching my son teetering on the brink of death. I love him as much as I love our other children."

"I know you do, Chris. I just don't think it's fair on the other children that they miss out on both parents now that Na- _Cable_ is recovering." Kate said.

"And I understand." Chris nodded. "I have the kids with the sitter. I wanted to see how my boy is recovering."

"Come hold him." Kate offered.

Nathan let go of her and leaned his head on her chest.

"He looks so peaceful." Chris ran his hand through Nathan's hair.

Nathan whined quietly and sadly.

"He's not dead. That's something you say when he's dead." Kate snapped, though not out of anger. She was simply exhausted, having not slept much since Nathan fell ill.

"It's also something you say when he's sleeping or when he looks peaceful." Chris said calmly.

"D'jou wanna take him, Chris?" Kate asked.

Chris bent down to pick his son up.

"Just hold him tight and keep him close to his IVs." Kate muttered as Chris held Nathan tightly.

"Kate, you should go get something to eat or drink. Bring Nathan-"

"Cable." Nathan corrected grumpily.

 _"Cable_ a Popsicle or something." Chris smiled. "Go on, we'll be fine, won't we, Buddy?"

Nathan nodded.

"Alright." Kate agreed. "I'll be back soon, sweetie." She planted a kiss on Nathan's head and left the room.

* * *

After a quick restroom break, Kate wandered into the hospital cafeteria, looking lost and desperately concerned about her still-seriously ill son. Deep in thought, Kate bumped into another woman, causing the woman to spill soda on her top.

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry!" Kate said, offering napkins to the woman.

"That's alright, I should have been looking where I was going too." The woman took the napkins from Kate. "I'm just worried about my kid, you know?"

"I'm a mom too." Kate replied. "I have five kids. One of them-"

"Is here." The woman sighed, sadly. "Mine, too."

"How many?" Kate asked.

"Just the one." The woman replied. "My son. He's just turned four years old."

"Mine too." Kate said. "The one who's here, I mean." She added.

"Is he...?"

"He's just come from the ICU." Kate sighed. "He's still, seriously ill, but at least he's getting better."

"Intensive Care?"

Kate nodded.

"I'm so sorry-that must've been so worrying. Mine's just got here." The woman threw the napkins in the bin. "Cancer."

"I'm so sorry." Kate said in shock. "If there's anything I can do for you and your husband, let me know."

"My son's father... He's not around. He wasn't a nice man. That's why we moved to New York."

"Where are you originally from then?" Kate asked.

"Toronto." The woman said. "Do you mind me asking, why is your son...?"

"Meningitis." Kate cast her gaze downwards. "He lost his arm, shoulder and parts of his chest."

"I didn't know meningitis could _do_ that!"

"Once septicemia takes hold, the only option is amputation." Kate said, repeating the words spoken to her by Nathan's doctor.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." She said.

"I'd better get back to my son and my husband." Kate said, walking out of the cafeteria.

"Wait!" The woman called after her. Kate turned around and saw the woman scribbling on a piece of paper. "Here's my cell number." She said, handing Kate the paper. "My name's Hailey Wilson."

"I'm Kate Summers." She took the paper.

"Maybe we can get our kids together, you know, since they're isolated from the world stuck in here." Hailey suggested.

"Maybe." Kate said with a small smile. It _would_ do Nathan good for him to talk to someone his own age, rather than the adults he's interacted with exclusively for the past four months. She was certain it couldn't be good for any toddler to talk just to adults.

* * *

A few days later, Kate was sitting in the chair next to Nathan's hospital bed with Nathan sitting on her knee and still heavily bandaged. She was reading The Cat in the Hatto Nathan while he was sucking hard on an orange Popsicle, like his life depended on it.

"Hey, Kate."

Kate looked up from the book to see Hailey standing in the doorway.

"I was going to take Wade to the art class. I was wondering if your Nathan wanted to come too."

Nathan pulled the Popsicle from his mouth. "Cable!" He said indignantly.

"He just insists we call him Cable now." Kate patted her son's hair.

"Before he got ill, my Wade insisted I call him Ryan." Hailey looked concerned. "Is that normal?"

"God yes!" Kate laughed. "My Gabe _and_ my Scott have gone through the same phase. It's just something toddlers do."

"How old are Scott and Gabe now?" Hailey asked.

"Scott's six and Gabe's eight." Kate said.

"You have younger children, right?"

Kate nodded. "Alex is three and Rachel is fourteen months. In case you were wondering. Rachel never got a first birthday _or_ a first Christmas, Na- _Cable_ was sick at the time."

Hailey frowned slightly. "How did your older kids take it?"

"Gabe... He seemed-and still seems-indifferent to the whole affair." Kate explained. "Scott was deeply upset by it and just wants his little brother back. In fact, he spent all of Nath- _Cable's_ fourth birthday by his side, watching over him. Chris and I, we had to pull him away."

"Your kids sound close. I'd like for Wade to have a brother or a sister someday."

"But then that sibling might hate him."

"True." Hailey shrugged. "So, _does_ Cable want to come to the art class?" She asked the little boy.

Nathan looked up at her and nodded.

"I hope you get along with my Wade. I hear you share the same birthday, February tenth."

Nathan nodded again, this time more enthusiastically.

"It would be good for him, Hailey. Let him mix with kids his own age." Kate smiled sadly. "But we can't take him away from all his medical equipment. The oxygen cannula, the feeding tube, the IVs-"

"Wade has IV tubes too." Hailey said. "I know you're worried about what other kids might think of your son, now he has only one arm-"

"And half a body." Kate muttered.

"-But you shouldn't. Kids are more accepting than adults."

"I'm just worried for my Nathan." Kate said, stroking Nathan's hair protectively.

"Cable!" Nathan whined.

"My Cable." Kate corrected herself.

"I'll bring my Wade here and the boys can play together, if that's okay with you?" Hailey asked.

"It's fine by me, I guess. I need to check it with my son's nurses..."

"Let me know." Hailey smiled and left the room.

"Is that your new friend, Mommy?" Nathan asked.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, she is, sweetie."

"She's nice." Nathan said, smiling approvingly.

"Yes. Yes, she is." Kate said.

* * *

Later that day, Kate was still sitting in the chair, only now she was eating a sandwich and watching one of her older sons, Scott, help Nathan play with Lego. Hailey appeared again in the doorway.

"Hey, Hailey." Kate said. "My son's nurse said there's no risk of him passing the infection on now, he'll be fine to mingle with cancer patients."

"Oh, that's good. I've brought Wade along." Hailey smiled. She was holding the hand of a small boy with dirty blond hair that flopped over his eyes.

"Oh, Hailey, this is my son Scott." Kate gestured to the older boy.

"Nice to meet you, Scott." Hailey smiled.

Scott looked up from his Legoand frowned. "Yeah." He grunted before returning to play with his younger brother.

"Wade, come on in and play some Lego." Kate smiled at the young boy before turning to her own sons. "Scott, be nice."

"Mom, I don't want no one to laugh at Cable." Scott said.

"Wade won't make fun of your little brother. He's sick, too." Kate said assuringly.

Hailey led Wade into the room and Wade gingerly walked over to Nathan's hospital bed, where Scott was playing with Nathan.

"Uh... Hi." Wade rubbed his arm anxiously. "I'm Wade Wilson."

"I'm Cable." Nathan gave a small smile.

Scott put his arm around Nathan's neck.

"That's Scott, he's my big brother." Nathan said.

"Hi, Scott." Wade said quietly.

"Do you want to play Lego with us?" Scott asked, still apprehensive of the little boy. "I have Batman Lego."

"I like Batman." Wade nodded.

"Wade's such a cute little boy, Hailey." Kate smiled. "So quiet, too."

"Oh, you won't say that when you get to know him!" Hailey laughed. "Sometimes I fear he'll never shut up!"

"He's scared, isn't he?" Kate asked.

"He's only four. And he's facing a long battle." Hailey sighed. "I'm thirty-three and I've never been through half the things my Wade's been through. Life just isn't fair sometimes."

"I know what you mean." Kate said. "My Nathan's still got operations planned. Skin grafts, mostly. And his wounds have to be cleaned out-it's almost like scrubbing them-just so the skin around doesn't die..." Her voice cracked slightly.

"It looks like the boys have really hit it off." Hailey smiled, observing the two toddlers playing, in a bid to change the subject.

"It does." Kate agreed. "So, when you said Wade's father wasn't a good guy...?"

"He didn't abuse me or Wade, if that's what you're thinking." Hailey said quickly. "He's a wonderful father to Wade... He just wasn't a good fiancÃ©. Cheated on me-twice."

"I'm sorry to hear." Kate said.

"Mom, I gotta go potty." Scott called out.

"Scott..."

"Go take Scott to the bathroom, I can watch the boys. And there's nurses patrolling the place so Cable won't be short of medical attention, god forbid, should he need it."

"Well, the bathroom is just around the corner..." Kate nodded. "Scott, take my hand." The older boy slid off the hospital bed and ran to take his mother's hand. "He's usually quick, we'll be back in a minute." She said as they left the room.

"Mommy's gone." Nathan said, sadly.

"You heard her, she's just taking your brother to the bathroom." Hailey smiled at the one armed little boy who was looking at her sadly. "She'll be back, I promise."

Nathan nodded and moved back to his Lego.

"Do you like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?" Wade asked after a brief pause.

"Yeah." Nathan nodded. "But I got sick and had to come to hopsital and now I don't see it no more."

"I love Mickey Mouse." Wade said with a smile. "What happened to your arm? Where is it?"

Nathan looked at Wade in confusion.

"Wade honey, Cable here... Well, his arm made him sick. To make him better, doctors had to take it off."

"Will it grow back?"

"Wade, no. It won't." Wade looked at Nathan who nodded.

"But Mommy said I gonna get a better arm. And it will be better than Batman." Nathan said.

" _Nothing's_ better than Batman!" Wade cried out. He and Nathan began to laugh and Kate and Scott re-entered the room.

"They really have hit it off, haven't they?" Kate said.

"They have. I haven't seen my son this happy in ages." Hailey smiled.

"Does this mean Cable doesn't like me any more?" Scott asked, looking up at his mother.

"No, I know he still loves you." Kate smiled. "He's just found a friend his own age."

"Wade is four too?" Scott asked.

"Yeah." Kate nodded, watching her son play, smile and have fun for the first time since he got sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the first chapter of my Cable and Deadpool spinoff to Marvel Elementary (go check it out). It's not a sequel, but will tie in and can be read separately if that's what you wanna do.   
> This first chapter is essentially a rewrite of another chapter in that story, but like TV shows based on books, it's just an adaptation and will develop its own story.  
> I also know Scott is the oldest Summers brother. I don't care. You'll find out more about the Summers family as time goes on. Also, here, Katherine Summers is still alive and Christopher Summers isn't a Starjammer. Or is he?  
> Going by the Posehn/Duggan Deadpool series, I didn't like the revelation of Original Sin. But I wasn't meant to. Even Sabretooth gave Deadpool a dirty look after witnessing what Deadpool did. Sabretooth-the vicious and remorseless killer was even disgusted with what Deadpool did. Beyond what implanted memories Deadpool had of them and eventually what he did to them, I just wrote them as a normal family.


	2. Movies

"How's it going, Wade?" Nathan asked as Wade walked into the classroom that morning.

"Better, I guess." Wade shrugged.

"Weekend was cool?"

"You know I saw you over the weekend. We hung out a lot with Weasel and Bob-we saw the new Mister Patriot movie, the one with all the Mighty Avengers in it-I still think King Arthur is my favorite and Bob's is Robin Hood and Clint's too, probably and Weasel's is Android and I _know_ yours is Tarantula-and then we went shopping for toys and I got frustrated and smashed up a Rubix Cube next to a fountain and my mom took us on a picnic to Central Park. Your older brother stood over us the whole time and made the picnic super uncomfortable-"

"Yep. I remember all that, no need to go on." Nathan rolled his eye.

"But it was awesome!" Wade whined.

"And I remember it." Nathan said as a small smile spread on his lips.

"Nate, are you okay?" Wade asked. "Oh! I get it! You're remembering the awesome things we did over the weekend! Hey, you remember that weird albino girl! My neighbor! Goes to Stan Lee?"

A sickly smile spread across Nathan's face.

"You do, don't you?" Wade asked.

Nathan nodded.

"And you're crushing on her, aren't you?"

"Wade, I don't even remember her name." Nathan said.

"But you're _totally_ infatuated." Wade smirked.

"Infatuated? What the hell does _that_ mean?"

"You're crushing on her!" Wade shouted gleefully, throwing his arms in the air.

Nathan blushed bright red. "I AM NOT!" He shouted as he covered his face and looked away.

" _Nate and Albino-Girl sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G_!"

"Wade, shut up!"

" _First comes love, then comes marriage_!" Nathan put his hand over Wade's mouth, but Wade sang the rest of the song muffled.

"Just shut up!" Nathan hissed.

"Ia, Mam." A young girl walked into the classroom, talking on a phone. "Dwi wedi cael digon o Mr Cooper ddrws nesaf. Fo wedi gweiddi at fi pan fi mynd i'r Ysgol bore 'ma."

"Megan?" Wade whispered.

"Shh." Nathan put his finger to his mouth. "Wanna hear this."

"You can't understand this gibberish, can-?" Nathan put his hand over Wade's mouth, covering it.

"Ia, dwi gwbod hwn. Ond..." The girl paused. "Mam, plis, gwrando ar fi. Iawn. Gweld chi ar Ã´l Ysgol. A dwi caru chi hefyd, Mam." The girl put the phone in her backpack. "Hi, Wade. Hi Nathan. How are you this morning?" She asked.

"Fine, Megan. How are you?" Nathan asked.

"Great. If my neighbour wouldn't keep shouting at me every time I walked past his garden. Oh, he doesn't like me." Megan shook her head. "If someone payed me ten dollars, I would kick him up the arse no problem." Nathan stared at her. "That was your hint, Nathan. Pay me ten dollars and I kick old man Cooper up the arse."

"I don't have ten dollars, Megan." Nathan shrugged. "I have a five." He said, waving the note in front of Megan's face.

"Eh. Five will do." Megan said, snatching the note from Nathan's hand. "Cheers, Nathan." She walked away from the boys and took her seat at the back of the classroom.

"Alright kids!" Their teacher Mrs Rael walked into the classroom. "This morning, Mr Hammond and Mr Raymond will be looking after you during your reading session in the library, while I attend to pressing matters that require the attention of both me and Principal Xavier."

An Asian girl held her hand in the air.

"Yes, Colleen."

"Why does Mr Raymond always hang out with Mr Hammond? Is Mr Raymond Mr Hammond's sidekick or something?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's a little weird." A boy-Johnny-called out.

"I saw them eating together at a Thai place back on Saturday." A girl-Kitty-added.

"I wonder if they're boyfriends." Another girl-Emma-said, giggling.

"Emma, it's bullying if you laugh at other people." Mrs Rael said. "And no, they aren't boyfriends, Mr Raymond's parents died when he was a young teenager and Mr Hammond stepped in and raised him from there."

"I heard he's an _Inhuman_." Another girl-Jen-said.

"Is that true, Miss?" Another boy-Happy-asked.

"Well, Happy, you can ask me yourself." Mr Raymond said, appearing in the doorway.

"Toro, it's extremely good of you and Jim to take the kids on such short notice like this." Mrs Rael said with a smile as she walked up to the young man in her classroom doorway.

"Yeah, I know there's been a bit of trouble recently with the Odinson boy, Loki and his friend." Toro sighed. "I've seen it firsthand. Stayed with him until the ambulance came. What happened to Phil Coulson..." He winced. "Wasn't pretty, Irani. It wasn't pretty."

"Do you know how he is?" Irani pressed. "The Coulson boy?"

"As far as I know, he's in a drug induced coma." Toro leaned his arm against the door frame. "That pole Loki was carrying speared his chest. Poor kid's really shaken up about it."

"I can imagine." Irani shook her head.

"Luke Cage and Brian and Betsy Braddock in fifth Grade, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Natalia Romanova and Hank Pym in fourth Grade and Skye Fury in second Grade are all absent, with Loki Odinson as far as Mary will let me know." Toro pushed himself back up. "Can't blame 'em really. They saw the whole thing."

"Well you can let Mary know that I'm also missing Daniel Rand-Ka'i."

Toro hissed through his gritted teeth. "He saw it too-in fact, he was the one to come get me."

Irani nodded. "The kids will need time to get over their shock."

Toro leaned closer into Irani. "I hear that the state wanna get involved." He whispered. "Take Phil away from his foster family."

"Terrible. I hope something gets sorted." Irani said, before Toro turned to the class.

"Guys, I want you to pair up with your buddies and we're gonna go to the library together." He said with a false smile. "And to answer your question, Happy, yes-I'm Inhuman. Alright now, follow me."

"Hey, Nathan." Kitty jumped closer to Wade and Nathan. "Did you see the new Mister Patriot movie yet?"

"Yeah, Nate and I went to see it over the weekend!" Wade said quickly.

Kitty rolled her eyes. It was typical of Wade to get involved whenever anyone asked Nathan a question. Everyone just figured that Wade liked the sound of his own voice.

"It was good, Kitty." Nathan glared at his friend. "I liked that it introduced Insecto, Lion Man and Webmaker. Armored Man and Mister Patriot did a good job."

"And the hints that White Sorceress will get it on with Android, like in the comics." Wade chuckled."I didn't like how they killed Mister Patriot though."

"Officer Cranston was killed by Morgan Le Fay in the first Mighty Avengers movie." Kitty pointed out. "But he came back to life for Protection Police later."

"Technically he faked his death." Nathan said. "And Detective Maya Hall and Chief Nico Cross helped."

"Yep-to keep the Mighty Avengers motivated. And then Frank Cranston was pissed because Mister Patriot never signed his Mister Patriot comic collection." Wade smiled proudly for remembering.

"I thought it was cool that Charlotte King was in it, but I was bummed out that Nico Cross wasn't even mentioned."

"Yeah!" Kitty shouted indignantly. "Even Salty was mentioned, but no Nico Cross ! He's so awesome!"

"He reminds me a lot of Coach Fury." Nathan said thoughtfully.

"At least there was no mention of the romance between Tarantula and Beast Thing." Wade said.

"I always thought she had a thing for Robin Hood, like in the comics. But Robin Hood's just married to Thrasher from the Protection Police." Nathan shook his head.

"That happened in the comics too." Kitty shrugged

"Alright kids!" Mr Raymond called out. "Now everybody don't all run in at once! I can see how excited you all are!" He looked at everyone's bored and indifferent facial expressions. Happy put his hand up.

"So you're Inhuman?" Mr Raymond nodded. "What's your power? Can you fly?"

"I control elemental transformations in my body." Everyone looked confused. "I can turn myself to fire and I can also control fire. Uh... Super healing and yes, Happy, I can fly."

"Cool." Happy said with a smile.

"But I thought people don't like that." A girl-Wanda-asked.

"People don't like a lot of things, Wanda, that's why you just gotta be yourself. Besides..." Toro smirked. "There's more than just me who works here that has powers. And someday... One of you might get your own."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess which members of the Mighty Avengers correspond with the Avengers? And who Morgan Le Fay, Frank Cranston and the Protection Police are?   
> This chapter doesn't have much Wade and Nate, but that's because it's setting something up for later on. And yeah, that's Welsh Pixie is speaking. I figured because she's Welsh, she should speak the language. And I didn't get the translation from Google Translate-Wow! But not wow, I'm Welsh and it's my second language. I speak a lot of them.   
> Inhumans have been established over in Marvel Elementary, but this chapter introduces Megan Gwynn Pixie, Kitty Pryde, Richard Rider Nova, Emma Frost, Jennifer Walters She Hulk, Johnny Storm Human Torch, Jim Hammond Human Torch and Toro Human Torch-so basically all the Human Torches. And I don't own any of them, or any other character in this chapter. Well, maybe the Mighty Avengers, but that's a push, since they're all just the Avengers but renamed.


	3. Talking

"So he was just stabbed? Like right through?" A boy asked. He had black hair and thick, round glasses.

"Oh Weas-you wouldn't believe it." Wade shook his head. "I feel awful for Phil, of course, but damn. I got a whole five bucks from Matt Murdock, so it's not all that bad."

"I heard you got sent home early." Weasel said.

"We did." Nathan nodded. "Apparently it was traumatic for the kids who witnessed it."

"We only went back today." Wade added.

"Is Phil okay?" A smaller boy with mousy hair asked.

"C'mon, Bob. A flagpole skewered his body. Do you think he's okay?"

"Actually, he's alright, Weasel." Nathan shrugged. "He's in the hospital though. Still not well."

"That would suck." Bob shook his head. "I would hate to be skewered like a kebab."

"You would be a keBob." Wade chuckled.

"Wade." Nathan shot his friend a stern look. "This isn't funny."

"Wow, Priscilla, when did you become such a stick in the mud?"

"Wade, I never had cancer, I know that." Nathan shrugged. "But I _did_ nearly die when I was a baby. I've come closer to death than you. And that shit kind of messes with your brain. Especially when there's a bit of damage to it."

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_"Wade!" Nathan ran as fast as he could to his friend. They were in a big room being used for art therapy. A nurse stood her distance, smiling as Wade wrapped his arms around Nathan. Wade was bald from the chemotherapy he was receiving and Nathan had bandages wrapped around his arm and a gauze pad taped to his left eye._

_"Cable, what happen to your eye?"_

_"It's gone now, like my arm." Nathan smiled as he picked up a red crayon from the table and began to draw on a piece of paper._

_"Cable, this is Bob." Wade pointed to a nervous looking blonde haired boy, who wasn't attached to an IV like Wade or a feeding tube like Nathan. "He gotta have a operation on his heart."_

_"Mom said my heart don't work properly." Bob looked up at Nathan. "So the doctors are gonna fix it."_

_"They got good doctors here. They made me better when I got sick." Nathan nodded._

_"What are you drawing?" Wade pushed his own paper away and looked at Nathan's._

_"Bunny." Nathan replied, not losing his focus._

_"I like bunnies." Wade affirmed._

_"Bunnies are cute." Bob agreed. "Penguins much cuter." Bob looked at Nathan and the lack of a left arm under his pajama top. "What happened to your arm?"_

_"My arm made me sick but the doctors made me better by taking it away." Nathan picked up a blue crayon and started coloring his bunny. "It hard to color without my arm." He growled at the paper, which was sliding on the table._

_"I can help you, Cable!" Wade declared proudly, putting his hand on Nathan's paper. Nathan smiled thankfully at Wade._

_"What are you drawing?" Nathan asked, putting down his crayon._

_"I did a bird." Wade said._

_"And I did SpongeBob SquarePants." Bob said._

_"Well it Easter. I made my bunny the Easter Bunny." Nathan pulled his paper off the table and showed it to Wade and Bob._

_"That good bunny, Cable!" Wade giggled. On the paper was a childish scribble, but to Nathan, it was different. He was a toddler adjusting to an amputation and a missing eye and that automatically made it harder for him than it did for Wade or Bob to draw or color._

_"Look at the kids." Kate smiled._

_"I know." Hailey sighed happily. "Your Nathan is a good influence on my Wade. They're very good together."_

_"Yep." Kate agreed. "And your Wade seems to be making my Nathan more determined. But uh... Who's that kid they're with?"_

_"Bob Smith." Hailey said. "He's got a bad heart and the doctors are fitting him with a pacemaker."_

_"He seems scared." Kate noticed. "It must be hard on someone so young to be here. I mean, I know I'm finding it hard just being with my son."_

_"But they're getting along and that's the main thing." Hailey gave a small smile._

* * *

"Wait, you met at hospital?" Weasel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Didn't... Bob tell you that?" Nathan cocked his head slightly.

"He didn't say a thing."

"I think all that matters is that you three are my most treasured friends and I would hate for you guys to get skewered with a flagpole." Wade grabbed his three friends and pulled them all in for a reluctant hug. "I love you guys."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter!


	4. Superpowers

"Nate?" Wade sighed, slowly making his way over to his unconscious friend. "It's me. Wade. Your mom said I could see you? Your family's here. They're outside."

Wade received no reply, other than the sound of the ventilator pushing air into Nathan's lungs.

"Please, Nate. Wake up. I'm really scared." Wade looked at Nathan and back at the floor.

He just couldn't bring himself to look at Nathan for any extended period of time. Everything about his friend confused and upset him and the sounds of the machines unsettled him. Wade hadn't expected this to happen to Nathan-they were doing the science fair together.

"N-Nate?" Wade cast his gaze upward at his friend and winced at the sight of all the tubes and wires going in and out of him. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I don't like seeing you like this. Our moms told me that you wouldn't look good. But now, it looks worse than I thought. And I don't know what to make of you."

Wade rubbed his arm, realizing what he'd just said. "But you're still my best friend I've ever had, Nate."

Nathan stayed laying unmoving in his hospital bed with the only movement from his chest rising up and down. But even that wasn't even totally his own movement.

"Please. Do something." Wade begged.

Nathan didn't answer.

"Nate!" Wade's bottom lip began to tremble. "Please..."

* * *

_(Yesterday)_

_"I'm really excited for the science fair. I can't wait to see the stuff Tony Stark and Hank Pym will create." Wade said excitedly._

_"He-he definitely takes after his father." Nathan nodded, scratching at his metal arm._

_"What's the matter, Nate?" Wade asked, noticing Nathan looking spaced out._

_"Wha? Hmm. Nothing. Just I should get my arm fixed. It feels heavy."_

_"It looks heavy. I wouldn't like lugging **that** around all day."_

_"Heavier than usual. And it itches." Nathan complained._

_"But it's not real. It's a prostat-porstat..." Wade grunted in frustration. "It's fake."_

_"You're scarred all over, Wade." Nathan shrugged. "You should know the itching feeling more than I do."_

_Wade looked at his friend in sympathy and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I do."_

_Nathan moved his flesh arm to his itching chest-where the prosthetic arm connected to his body. He scratched the area violently._

_"Nate, are you okay?" Wade frowned._

_"I don't feel so good, Wade." Nathan answered. "My arm itches. My head hurts. And I feel like the world's spinning."_

_"We should get you to Mrs Rael." Wade said, grabbing his friend's arm, pulling him along._

_Along the way, they passed Scott, Nathan's older brother, and Jean, his friend._

_"Wade?" Scott asked. "What's wrong with Nathan?"_

_"Scott!" Nathan staggered into his older brother's arms._

_"Wade, what happened?" Jean asked. "Is Nathan okay?"_

_"Hurts, Scott." Nathan said. "I think I'm dying."_

_"Nathan, you're not going to die." Scott said, gently lowering his brother to the ground, sitting down with him. He stroked his younger brother's brown hair gently, all the memories of Nathan being on life support in the hospital coming to the front of his mind. "I promise."_

_"I'll go and get a teacher." Wade said._

_"No, I'll go. I know how connected you are to Nathan." Jean said with a nod._

_"Thank you, Jean." Scott said, gently brushing Nathan's hair from his eyes._

_"I'd hate it if it were Nate in this position." Jean said. "I'd do anything I could to help him."_

_"You're helping **my** Nate." Scott muttered as Jean ran to the playground monitor, today, Ms Carter._

_"Jean, are you quite sure?" Ms Carter asked._

_"Yeah!" Jean said enthusiastically. "Nathan Summers is dying!"_

_"This **isn't** an exaggeration?" Ms Carter raised an eyebrow._

_"No!" Jean grunted in frustration. "He is passing out right now, please, Ms Carter, believe me!"_

_"I believe you, Jean." Ms Carter nodded and followed Jean to Scott, who was cradling his younger brother in his lap and rocking him. Tears were falling down his cheeks as he begged Nathan to wake up._

_"See, Ms Carter! I was telling the truth!" Jean said._

_"Oh my." Ms Carter brought her hand to her mouth. A few seconds later, after regaining her composure, she crouched down to the boys. "Scott." She said firmly. "I need you to let go of your brother."_

_"I can't do that!" Scott cried out. "Nathan needs me!"_

_"No, Nathan needs medical attention, Scott. I have to call an ambulance." Ms Carter said._

_Nathan's eyes opened and his real eye started glowing yellow._

_"Nathan?" Jean asked.._

_**Jean?** She heard in her mind. **What's happening to me? I'm scared.**_

_"Ms Carter-I hear his voice... In my head." Jean said._

_"We have to get him to Principal Xavier." Ms Carter said urgently. "Scott, let me carry him. You can come with us. You should come with us."_

_**Wade help me! Please!** Wade heard in his. He grabbed it and whined._

_"Ms Carter! I hear it too!" He said._

_"Alright, everyone with me!" Ms Carter announced, picking up Nathan from the ground-and Scott's lap-and hurrying indoors._

* * *

(Today)

"Hank Pym built a robot for the science fair. He called it Ultron. Well, he had help from Tony Stark and Bruce Banner." Wade looked over at his friend. Still no signs of life. "It looks really good, Nate. It's-it can do anything. Probably even wake you up."

Wade sat down on the floor and rested his head back on Nathan's hospital bed.

"I miss you, Nate. It's been a day, but I miss you."

* * *

_(Yesterday)_

_"Charles!" Ms Carter said, bursting into Principal Xavier's office, still carrying Nathan. The kids followed her in._

_Principal Xavier's head snapped up. "Peggy? What's going on with the Summers boy?"_

_"We have an emergency." Ms Carter replied. She gently set the young boy down on the desk. Items started whirling around the office and Nathan's eye still glowed yellow._

_"One of two scenarios. His mutant powers have activated. Or he's recently been exposed to Terrigen."_

_"Terrigen?" Scott asked._

_"Yes, it's the substance that gives the Inhumans their powers." Principal Xavier explained._

_"I don't think it's Terrigen." Scott answered._

_"I heard him in my head." Jean said._

_"So did I." Wade added._

_Principal Xavier nodded and held the little boy's flesh hand._

_**Nathan. Nathan, can you hear me?** _

_**Principal Xavier?** _

_**Yes, Nathan. I'm inside your head.** _

_**Why?** _

_**You're a mutant, Nathan. Your powers have activated. Very early, I might add, since you're only nine.** _

_**What's going to happen, Sir? I'm scared!** _

_**I know you are, Nathan. I feel it. But I must be blunt with you. I have to block your powers. If I don't, they could kill you.** _

_**I don't want to die!** _

_**Let me help you, Nathan. Let me help.** _

* * *

(Today)

"Charles Xavier saved our son's life." Chris said.

He was sitting outside his son's hospital room with folded arms. Alongside him was his wife, Kate, their other sons, Gabe, Scott and Alex and their daughters, Rachel and the young Hope.

"I know, Chris." Kate replied. "I know. Nathan's come _so_ close to death so _many_ times in his short life. I don't think it's fair on him."

"Because it _isn't_ fair on him." Chris said. "I am so _proud_ of my son though. Throughout all this he hasn't lost his hope, his belief that things will get better."

"That he'll change the world somehow." Kate added.

"Mom, Dad, Nathan _will_ get better, won't he?" Alex asked.

"Yes, Alex. We hope he will." Kate nodded.

"We've been through this enough times to know he will." Gabe shrugged, playing on his iPad.

"Gabe!" Chris hissed out. "That's your brother! Who's in a coma right now!"

"For-what is this... The third time or something? We know he's gonna be fine. I don't know why we're even here."

"Gabe..." Chris said warningly.

"Chris." Kate said gently. "Maybe that's just Gabe's coping strategy. Please, be nicer towards him. We all need it right now."

"What could have triggered it?" Scott asked. "I mean, Nathan was fine and then he... Wasn't."

"I don't know, Scott. I don't know." Chris sighed, wondering how he could help his mutant son. "Maybe it was all the trauma he's been through-being born premature and getting meningitis."

"Does this mean that we're going to be mutants as well? If Nathan is one?" Alex asked.

"There's a chance." Kate replied.

"I hope I get a cool power if I'm a mutant." Rachel said.

"We might all just get telepathy and telekinesis like Nathan." Gabe said, distracted by his game.

"That's a cool power." Rachel shrugged.

* * *

_(Yesterday)_

_"What's happening?" Scott asked. "What's happening to my brother?!"_

_"Principal Xavier as you know is a telepath." Ms Carter explained. "He's helping your brother and I assume, communicating telepathically with him."_

_Nathan's bangs turned a silvery white color as his body began to shake._

_"Nathan!" Scott cried out, reaching for his brother. Ms Carter held him back._

_"No, it's dangerous! Leave them be, Scott!"_

_Suddenly, Nathan's body relaxed on the desk and Principal Xavier let go of his hand, bringing his own hands to his head._

_"Peggy, call an ambulance." He said._

_"What's wrong with my brother?" Scott demanded._

_"Nathan couldn't handle his power. He's unconscious. He fell unconscious in your lap, Scott."_

_"What does it mean, Sir?"_

_"Your brother's powers put him in a coma of sorts." Principal Xavier said bluntly. "If I hadn't blocked his telepathic powers, he would have died. So what I did to your brother, Scott, was save his life."_

_"Thank you, Principal Xavier, Sir. I'm gonna... I'm gonna obey all your rules from now on." Tears fell down Scott's cheeks._

_"Come here, Scott." Principal Xavier beckoned the young boy over to him._

_Scott shuffled over and Principal Xavier offered him a tissue. Scott took it. "Thanks."_

_"You're welcome." He said. "Come on. Hold your brother's hand. It's okay. I know you've done this before. Back when Nathan was only three years old and had meningitis."_

_"Are you reading my mind?" Scott asked._

_"No, I don't need to. I've talked to your parents." Professor Xavier chuckled slightly. "Go on. Hold his hand. He could do with your comfort until the paramedics arrive."_

_Scott cautiously took Nathan's hand in his. "Nathan. I love you." He whispered to his younger brother. "Please don't die."_

* * *

(Today)

"Please don't die." Wade begged his best friend. "There's still so much for you to live for. You still haven't seen the Mighty Avengers movie." His shoulders fell. "And then there's the Justice League movie coming out later this year. I don't know why you like Superman so much, especially when Batman's just that much better." He sighed.

"I guess I'd better be going home then. Just please wake up and please don't die."

"Wade, don't stop." Nathan croaked out.

"Nate?" Wade questioned. "I thought I heard your voice."

"You did, Wade." Nathan answered.

"You're awake?!" Wade rushed to his best friend's side. Nathan gave a small nod and Wade cheered.

"Quiet, Wade. Please." Nathan winced. "My head hurts."

"Sorry, Nate." Wade blushed. "Oh wow. Holy shit. You're alive and you're awake. You're not in a coma anymore!"

"So weird, Wade." Nathan said. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. You nearly died yesterday!" Wade exclaimed. "I should go and get your parents."

"Mom and Dad." Nathan nodded. He looked over at the door and as his eye glowed again, the door opened.

"Whoa. Nate. How'd you do that?" Wade asked in awe.

Nathan simply smiled in return.

"Wade?" Kate asked, walking to the doorway. "Are you done...?" Her eyes widened when she saw her son now conscious. "Nathan!" She exclaimed, rushing over to hug him, taking care with the medical equipment surrounding him.

"Mom." Nathan hugged her back, using his newfound telekinetic abilities to take the ventilator mask from his face. "I'm scared." He whispered.

"Oh, Nathan. I was so worried about you." Kate stroked his now silver and brown hair.

"I'm a mutant." Nathan said.

"You are, Nathan. You are. But it doesn't mean your father and I love you any less. Charles Xavier explained everything to us. Don't worry. It's okay. Just rest, yeah? Just rest."

Nathan nodded and put his head back down on the pillow, his silvery white bangs drooping over his eyes.

Kate gently brushed his hair away with her finger and kissed her son on the forehead.

"Come on, Wade. We should let him be now." Kate said, taking Wade's hand and walking out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the Avengers, the X Men or any other Marvel character.


	5. Civil War Part II

(May 22 1944)

"Shut the hell up, Wade!" Nathan screamed. Birds flew away crowing at the volume of his voice.

"Someone's not a happy fella today." Wade chuckled. "You know you'll give us away to the Nazis, right?"

"It was you who got us into this damn mess in the first place you idiot!" Nathan held out his metal arm and his cybernetic eye began glowing yellow. "I _really_ hate you right now." He snarled.

"Yeah, you're not much fun to be around yourself either, Priscilla."

"My name isn't Priscilla!" Nathan screamed in Wade's face. "It's Cable!"

"Cable's a stupid name." Wade said.

"Duly noted." Nathan said through gritted teeth.

"You were four when you gave yourself that damn name." Wade shook his head. "You're forty now. And you're trapped in the forties. Hey, that's pretty funny, right? Speaking of funny, what's with the shoulder pads? Did you time travel to the 1990s without me? Ah, the 1990s. That amazing time where everyone in comics either had terminal diseases, metal arms, a huge, sexy, rippling muscular physique or scars all over but still looked really handsome, even if the scars were on their face. And look, you hit like... Three of those!"

"Wade, I swear to _god_ , if there _is_ one-"

"Hey, do you practice that Charlton Heston voice, _Cable_ , or is it natural?"

"Wade..."

"That's gotta be a riot at Republican fundraisers, right?" Wade smirked under his mask. "Hey-hey, Nate, say 'the NRA is about liberty, not about killing rabbits with AK-47s' or..."

"Wade, shut that degenerate mouth of yours before I shut it for you." Nathan narrowed his eyes. " _Permanently_."

"What you gonna do about it, Nate?" Wade snorted. "Sew it shut? I'd like to see you try!"

Nathan took the Psimitar from across his back, took a step back and pointed it at Wade, dangerously close to his chest. "With pleasure."

"This is because you can't get over what happened in that election, isn't it?" Wade asked bitterly.

"Shut up, Wade! Shut up!" Nathan used the Psimitar to send out a blast of psionic energy, knocking Wade to the ground.

* * *

(May 22 2017)

"So who are you voting for?" Nathan asked as he walked along the hall. Wade was by his side, sucking on a lollipop.

"I don't know. Steve makes some good points, but Tony makes better points." Wade said. "I mean-"

"I know. You just said that Tony promised to make you hall monitor. And that's why you're voting for him." Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not wrong, am I?"

"You know, maybe I should try to recruit people onto Tony's side. Like that Mr Thinks-He's-Fantastic..."

"You mean Reed Richards." Nathan said.

"Yeah."

"He told me he's going to vote for Tony."

"Hmm." Wade grunted. "I should probably find out who everyone's voting for first, right?"

"That'd be a good idea." Nathan said. "Though, Wade, you never asked me whose side _I'm_ on."

"Well, Mr Mutant Jesus, you think that you're above all this bullshit so you're not voting."

"Yeah." Nathan nodded absently. "Something like that."

* * *

That lunchtime, Nathan walked over to Steve, who was just starting his campaign.

"Nathan Summers, I'm busy campaigning. Tell me what you want." Steve said, as he put a World War II propaganda style flier saying 'Vote Steve' up on the wall.

"Wade's recruiting people to vote for Tony." Nathan said.

Steve turned to look at Nathan. "Wait, really?"

Nathan nodded. "Look, I know I said I'd vote for you but maybe we should do what Team Tony are doing."

"And that would be what, Nathan?" Steve asked. "Blackmailing people into voting for me? Vote Steve Rogers, get a free cookie?"

"No, Steve, I never said that."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"I just wanted you to know what we're up against."

"Well, I have more people pledging to vote for me every day. I'm not too worried."

"Sam Wilson, Matt Murdock, Scott Lang, Jessica Jones..."

"They're good people. And they support my cause."

"I support your cause too, Steve, I just think-"

"Listen, I've thought about what you have to say, Nathan and, respectfully, I disagree. You can't change the big picture in a daily struggle." Steve said.

"No, but throughout the course of history, the actions and decisions of individuals-or their non actions-have affected the big picture."

"Nathan, we're both ten years old. Don't get philosophical with me."

"In all fairness, Steve, _you_ started the philosophical debate." Nathan raised an eyebrow. "I believe in you. I believe in your platform."

"So just vote for me." Steve said. "No need to do anything else."

"You need to adapt or you're going to lose the election." Nathan said. "Or the electorate."

"You believe in my cause." Steve said.

"I know some other super powered kids who do too." Nathan said, almost in a low whisper. "Others are on Tony's side-primarily Doreen Green and Hank Pym. You need to swing them."

"I'm running on a platform of super power anonymity." Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what else I can do."

"I'm trying to keep it low profile about my powers since the Science Fair thing..." Nathan whispered. "But I'll do what I can when I can."

Steve nodded. "Voting for me would be better, but yeah. Thanks, Nathan."

Nathan gave a nod and walked away, leaving Steve to put up more fliers.

Unknown to Steve and Nathan, Wade was listening on the conversation.

"Well, well. Sam, Matt, Scott and Jess." Wade smirked. "I know who I'm going to convert next." He scoffed. "Stupid Nate, 'whose side am I on?' As if I wouldn't know."

Wade walked down the hall in the opposite direction from Nathan.

* * *

(May 22 1944)

"You little shit!" Wade growled, getting back up from the ground. He lunged at Cable, whose smirk instantly vanished.

Nathan tried to point his Psimitar at Wade again, but Wade grabbed Nathan's Psimitar and forced the pointed end to the sky. Seeing Nathan raise his fist to hit him, Wade then grabbed Nathan's wrist, holding him still.

"Rrnghh?" Wade snorted. "We haven't even started yet and you're winded! I hope you have the common decency to tell me if you were suffering severe chest pains."

"Do you... Ever... Stop talking?" Nathan asked between breaths.

"Nope." Wade narrowed his eyes with a smirk.

"It has nothing to do with that damn election, Wade. We were wrong in all forms of our relationship." Nathan tried to punch Wade, but Wade dodged it. "We're incompatible. That was just the start of it."

"No kidding. But it's destiny that we're together, babe."

Nathan got visibly enraged and swiped his Psimitar across Wade's lower legs, knocking him down to the ground.

"We are _not_ together!" Nathan shouted, pointing his Psimitar in Wade's face, "And what the hell makes you think you know _anything_ about destiny?"

"I know that she's smiling down on me today." Wade said, carefully pulling his gun from a holster on his thigh. "Because here I am in 1944, fighting a one armed, time travelling asshat," he carefully aimed the gun at Nathan's flesh arm, "with a spear for a weapon, when I brought a gun."

Wade pulled the trigger, sending the bullet flying through Nathan's arm, sending blood out with it. Nathan hissed in pain. He dropped his Psimitar and immediately brought his metal hand to support his injured arm.

Wade took the opportunity to get up off the ground and while Nathan was distracted in pain, Wade kicked him down to the floor.

"Oops. Looks like the Cable's out." Wade chuckled.

"Everything shit that we've ever been through, Wade, has been _your_ fault!" Nathan spat. "I wish I'd stayed away from you when we disagreed over that damn class election." He reached over to pick up his Psimitar, but Wade put his foot on Nathan's arm to stop him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Wade pressed his gun right up to Nathan's forehead.

* * *

(22 May 2017)

"Come on, Murdock, you gotta say yes." Wade begged as he followed Matt Murdock through the halls.

"Look, Wade, I've already said no." Matt said.

"Hehe." Wade giggled. "You said 'look'."

"Yes, Wade, I get it. I'm blind." Matt said with a sigh. "Tony doesn't represent my views. I'm voting for Steve."

"Hehe. Views." Wade giggled again.

"Wade!" Matt snapped.

"Okay, but Tony wants everyone with powers to tell the school they have powers. Wouldn't you like to know who has powers? Who might kill you?"

"I don't know why you're doing this, Wade." Matt said. "I thought Nathan was on our side."

"And I'm attached to Nate like a conjoined twin, am I?" Wade huffed.

"I didn't say that-"

"Just because Nate is my best friend, it doesn't mean we can't disagree on shit."

"Really?" Matt chuckled. "You're _best_ _friends_? I'm _blind_ and I can see there's more to your relationship than just that, Wade. Look up 'complicated' in the dictionary and the definition would be 'the relationship between Wade Wilson and Nathan Summers'."

"Nate's not my boyfriend!" Wade grunted.

"Didn't say _that_ either." Matt huffed slightly. "Look, you _really_ think that Tony can solve this school's problems then yeah, vote for him. But I'm voting for Steve."

"How do you vote anyway, you're blind!"

Matt stopped and stared ahead in disbelief. "Braille."

"Okay, forget about the superpower thing, what about food? Don't you want more nutritious stuff in the cafeteria?" Wade asked.

"Chimichangas _aren't_ nutritious, Wade." Matt said.

"What do I have to say to convince you?" Wade asked, almost begging.

"Well, well. Looks like you were right, Nathan. He's recruiting." Steve folded his arms. Standing behind him was Nathan and Scott Summers, Sam Wilson, Jessica Jones and Jessica Drew. "What should we do with him now?"

"Nate?" Wade asked.

"Seems we're on different sides here, Wade." Nathan said, walking forward.

"Yeah. It seems we are." Wade said bitterly, raising his fist to Nathan. Nathan stepped forward and punched Wade in the face with his metal arm.

"You... Punched me." Wade said, holding his nose.

"Oops. My prosthetic slipped." Nathan said sarcastically.

Wade growled and kicked Nathan in the stomach and again in the face when Nathan was doubled over in pain. "Oops. Muscle spasm."

"Steve, what should we...?" Sam began.

"Leave it, Sam. I'm sure it's been a long time coming." Steve watched the two with intrigue.

Wade snarled and pushed Nathan backwards, into the wall.

Nathan breathed heavily and wiped his bleeding mouth. Wade had split his lip with that last kick. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?" He brought himself to his feet. "Bring it on."

"You dare put the Backstreet Boys in my head!" Wade screamed, lunging at Nathan once again.

Nathan kicked Wade in the stomach, knocking him back.

Wade then went to punch Nathan in the face, but Nathan held him still with his telekinesis, raising eyebrows among Steve and his friends.

"Been a while... Since we last did this... Wade..." Nathan panted. "You were saying... Something about the uh... Backstreet Boys?"

"You're evil, Nate Summers!" Wade spat out.

"Shut up." Nathan snarled, dropping Wade.

Wade tried again to punch Nathan in the face. This time, he succeeded and there was an audible crack and blood everywhere.

"Nathan!" Scott shouted in panic.

* * *

(May 22 1944)

Nathan scoffed. "You think threatening me with a gun will stop me?"

"No, but this might." Wade shrugged and lifted his foot off Nathan's arm. Nathan desperately tried to read Wade's next move, but Wade was too quick for him, bringing his heel down hard right on Nathan's gunshot wound.

Nathan screamed in pain. It was easily the worst he'd ever been through. He felt as if he were going to either vomit or pass out with the pain.

Nathan breathed heavily. "You're not going to save the world, Wade. You can't even remember what you had for breakfast this morning." He smirked as he kicked Wade in the crotch, using the time Wade was distracted to swipe his Psimitar and get up to his feet. He swiped his Psimitar at Wade's legs again.

"Trust me on this one." Nathan barely managed to shrug off the pain in his arm as he raised his Psimitar to Wade and used the tip of his Psimitar to rip Wade's mask off, exposing his heavily scarred face. "

Wade stood up angrily and narrowed his eyes. "You stuck up Jesus wannabe!" He snarled.

"You'll _never_ be the hero, Wade!" Cable slammed his Psimitar into the ground next to Wade. "You proved that during the election!"

"What do you mean the election?" Wade grunted. "I thought you said this _wasn't_ about that?!"

"But you _made_ it about that!" Nathan snapped, yanking his Psimitar from the ground.

Wade picked up his mask from the floor. "I did _not_ -"

"When you have a purpose in life, you can't just put it on hold because you're having a bad day!" Nathan shouted. "It's with you _always_! Every waking moment-you can't hide _deep_ enough, you can't run _far_ enough, you can't even try..." He took a breath to compose himself. "Because the guilt alone would eat you alive."

* * *

(22 May 2017)

Nathan looked at the blood gushing from his nose. He didn't have to. He could feel it. Taste it.

"Ugh." He grunted. "I hate the taste of blood"

"Yeah, welcome to my world." Wade chuckled. The next thing Wade knew was that Nathan's metal fist was headed straight for his face.

"Oh my." Sam said as the now-unconscious Wade hit the floor.

"You all saw he went for me first, right?" Nathan asked, pinching his nose.

"He broke your nose!" Scott rushed to his younger brother.

"I'm sure it's not that bad." Nathan said.

"Uh..."

"Your face is black and swollen, Nathan. No way in hell you're getting away with that." Jessica Jones said. "So what do we do with Wade?"

"Duct tape." Nathan panted. "Lots of duct tape. At least one roll for his mouth alone."

While Steve and Sam went to go look for duct tape, the two Jessicas-Jones and Drew-along with Matt moved Wade's unconscious body to a classroom. Scott approached his younger brother.

"Nathan." Scott pulled him into a hug.

"Scott, I'm fine." Nathan assured.

"Mom and Dad are going to be so worried. You might need to go to the hospital again."

"It's not _that_ bad is it?" Nathan asked.

"It's... Pretty bad." Scott winced, taking another look at his younger brother's face. "Your nose looks like it's on one side. And then there's your black eyes..."

"I've survived death twice, Scott, I think I'll survive this." Nathan said casually.

"Mom and Dad aren't going to be happy that you've been fighting."

Nathan sighed. "Yeah. I know."

* * *

Not long after, Wade woke up while Nathan was still duct taping him to a chair.

"What's going on here? How long was I out?" Wade asked.

Nathan checked his watch. "About seven minutes. If that." He replied.

Upon seeing the mess on Nathan's face, Wade smirked. "So I broke your nose, huh? That's funny."

"Yeah, well I duct taped you to a chair. That's _also_ funny." Nathan snapped.

"Great prank and all Nathan, but I gotta go pee." Wade said. "So if you don't mind letting me go-"

"I'm _not_ letting you go."

"How come we have an audience?" Wade asked, referring to Steve, Scott, Sam, Matt and the two Jessicas who were all sitting gown at the empty desks.

"Because they helped me move you in here after our fight." Nathan said.

"So why are you doing this, I don't-" Wade paused. "Wait, you're trying to teach me a lesson, aren't you?"

"Actually we were trying to stop you from recruiting my voters." Steve piped up.

"So that's a yes...?"

"Yes, Wade!" Everyone shouted.

"I thought you said he was intelligent?" Jess Drew said.

"He is. But he has his moments of non-intelligence." Nathan replied.

"How do you put up with him?" Sam asked.

"With great difficulty." Nathan sighed, turning back to Wade.

"You can't do this to me! I'm an American!" Wade shouted.

"But you're _Canadian_." Nathan frowned.

"You can't do this to me! I'm a Canadian!" Wade corrected himself.

"I'm trying to stop you from making a mistake, Wade!" Nathan paced in front of Wade.

"You can't coddle me forever, Nate!"

"I'm just trying to help!"

"You ruined _everything_!"

"I didn't ruin _anything_! You're the one that's trying to sway this election! I'll give you cookies if you vote for Tony-do you even know the legalities of that, Wade?!"

"Well, unlike you, you mutant Jesus, I couldn't be bothered Googling politics! Politics is for old white men and boring people."

"What do you think we're all going to grow up to be, Wade?" Nathan asked. "Jessica Jones and Jessica Drew are going to be boring old white women and the rest of us are going to be boring old white men."

"You're a mutant." Wade said. "That makes you a lot _less_ boring than me."

"Is that what this is? You're jealous of my telekinesis?" Nathan asked. "Is that why you're voting for Tony, so he can make you Hall Monitor and you get that little bit of power?"

"Yes!" Wade shouted. "Are you happy now?"

"Free him." Nathan said.

"Are you sure, I mean..." Steve began.

"Yeah. I'm sure." Nathan nodded.

Steve and Sam walked over to Wade's chair and began to untie the duct tape.

"You know you can do so much more on our side." Nathan said, crouching down to Wade's eye level. "Join us, Wade. Trust me."

"Kinda hard to do that when you're sounding so suspiciously like Darth Vader." Wade raised an eyebrow.

"Tony's the _real_ Darth Vader." Nathan said.

When Wade was sufficiently freed, he head-butted Nathan in the face-on his already broken nose-sending him staggering backwards.

Nathan brought his hand to his nose. "You little..." He growled as blood seeped through his fingers.

"Nathan, you should go to my mom." Steve frowned.

"Yeah, I'm taking him there now." Scott wrapped his arm around his younger brother. "Come on Nathan."

"No, Scott." Nathan wiggled himself free. "You know what, Sam, Steve-keep him there."

"But I have to pee!" Wade whined as Sam and Steve stopped unwrapping the duct tape.

"Your fault, Wade." Nathan said as he was led out the room by Scott.

Everyone else followed. Steve was the last one out the room so he turned the light out and shut the door after him.

* * *

(May 22 1944)

Wade scowled. "This is obviously a sore topic for you-"

"Do you have _any_ idea what it's like living with that kind of responsibility? Do you?!" Nathan grabbed the scruff of Wade's neck with his free hand and screamed in Wade's face.

"What the hell does _this_ have to do with _anything_?!" Wade screamed back. "And here I thought _I_ was supposed to be the one with the screwed up brain!"

Nathan relaxed slightly and then slung his Psimitar over his shoulder.

"Look, this may be just a shot in the dark, but Nate, are you... Dying?" Wade asked carefully.

Nathan hung his head.

"Holy shit. You are. That's what this is _really_ about."

"Yes. I'm dying." Nathan said, barely loud enough for Wade to hear.

"I'm sorry." Wade said sincerely.

"No, I am. I'm sorry for everything since the election. And more importantly, Wade, I'm sorry I blamed _you_ for it. You were only doing what you thought was right."

"What is this, you atoning for past sins? Nate, that election was more than 30 years ago. And we've been friends for 40 years, okay we've had bust ups, but-"

"It made me bitter towards you Wade."

"What do you mean?"

"You broke my nose. It's hard to trust someone after that."

"It's hard to trust someone after they duct tape you to a chair when you need to pee."

"Guess we were both assholes that day." Nathan dropped his Psimitar and sat on the floor.

"Yeah. I guess we both were." Wade sat down next to

"I'm sorry for everything." Nathan said.

"So am I, Nate. So am I." Wade sighed softly.

* * *

(22 May 2017)

A few hours later, just after the last school bell had rang, Wade was still sitting taped to that chair in the classroom, needing to pee.

Nathan walked in and turned the light on. His nose was taped up and he was carrying an ice pack.

"Came back for me, did you, Nathan?" Wade scoffed. "Well, I don't need your help."

"You're going to stay low until this election is over." Nathan walked over to Wade.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because any more trying to sway election results and I will just tape you back to this chair." Nathan said calmly. A bit _too_ calmly.

"So what... You're just freeing me here?"

"Yes, Wade. The school day's over. It's time to go home." Nathan said, ripping the duct tape open.

"And you're just going to _let_ me go home?"

"I can't detain you legally, Wade." Nathan shrugged. "And this is a school, not Guantanamo Bay."

"How do you know about that? You're ten." Wade asked, getting no answer from Nathan.

Nathan grunted as he finally freed Wade from the duct tape. "You're free." He said.

Wade stood up and began peeling the tape from his clothes. "You know, you won this battle. But you're going to lose the war."

"One thing was decided for certain today Wade." Nathan said.

"What's that?" Wade narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"We both know what side we're on." Nathan replied.

The two kids watched each other, but neither made a move until the door opened again. It was the security guard, Heimdall.

"That's where you've been hiding all day, Wade. Come on. I can't let you two stay here all night. I have to get home myself."

"Sorry Mr Heimdall." The two said almost in unison.

"Come on." He said, beckoning the kids out. "Before Kraven does his night rounds."

Wade and Nathan left the room and Heimdall shut the door. As Heimdall led them down the halls the two of them stared angrily at each other until they reached the way out.

"Off you two go home." Heimdall said.

Wade and Nathan walked down the steps from the school where Scott was waiting for Nathan.

"Just so you know, Mom and Dad are here to take you to the hospital." Scott warned.

Wade stared at Nathan and Scott going into the Summers family car before walking off in the opposite direction.

"Yeah. I know what side you're on." He muttered to himself as he put his hands in his pockets. "Asshole."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on two different comics, Cable and Deadpool: Civil War-which takes up issues 30-32 of Cable and Deadpool vol. 1-and Deadpool vol.1 #26. The latter was used as inspiration for the future scenes in which Nate is dying. Dying of what? Stay tuned to find out.  
> The future scenes have a point, just like the past scenes did. You just don't know it yet.  
> The next chapter will be focused on Wade and his aftermath of Civil War. Oh and stay tuned for the introduction of everyone's favorite old blind lady; Blind Al! Yay!   
> And did someone say illegal human cloning? No? Damn. That would have been a good plot point...


	6. Civil War Part III

Ware walked into his apartment building and called for an elevator. He walked in and the doors closed.

"I live in a strange apartment building, that much I do know." Wade began narrating as he pressed the button for the second floor. "My neighbors though-the ones who live on my floor-are even stranger. Stranger than me. They include an old blind lady, teenagers who dress in revealing clothing-including one who perpetually dresses as a sexy cowgirl-Bob, some albino girl... And then there's Nijo. He's the sexy cowgirl's boyfriend. I mean... He's not my actual neighbor, but the cowgirl is and he's pretty much just gone and moved into her apartment." He chuckled as he walked out of the elevator and down the hall.

"What can I say about Nijo? Well, for starters, I love to taunt him. And it's not like Nijo doesn't taunt me back. I feel we have an almost antagonistic relationship between the pair of us. It's hard to argue with him though, he's forever pulling the 'oh my pancreas' card. Yeah, I knew Nijo has a pancreas condition fo realzies, but he's using it to get the upper hand, I just know he is."

He paused as a taller, older boy dressed all in black walked towards him.

"Speak of the devil. There's Nijo right now, like some kind of weird goth dressed all in black with his... Shaved head and..." Wade frowned and cocked his head slightly. "It's not just me, right? That's definitely an 'X' on his face written in Sharpie or something, right? Oh phew, thought it was just me for a second."

"Talking to yourself again?" Nijo greeted with a casual nod, hands stuffed in his pockets as if nothing was different.

"Nijo? No. I was talking to the readers" Wade asked.

"Readers?" Nijo questioned.

"Doesn't matter. What the hell's up with your face?" Wade couldn't help but stare.

"Nothing." Nijo shrugged. "Oh, you mean the-"

"The 'X', yeah." Wade nodded.

"I should be asking you about your face." Nijo raised his sunglasses, noting the black eye and bruising on Wade's face.

"I just fell out with a friend." Wade sighed.

"And he beat you black and blue?!" Nijo said in surprise.

"Well, I broke his nose."

"Bob? Or that Weasel kid?"

"No. Nathan Summers."

"He was just... He woke up from a coma and you broke his nose?" Nijo raised an eyebrow.

"Uh..." Wade winced. It sounded bad when Nijo said it.

"I'm impressed, Wade, but yeah, don't punch coma patients again." Nijo said. "Never figured that you'd have a bust up with Nathan Summers though."

"So because we were friends, we were supposed to agree on every little thing? No. Friendship doesn't work that way. And you never told me what's going on with your face." Wade said.

"Nothing gets past you, does it, Wilson?" Nijo chuckled. His look turned serious as he clutched his stomach. "Oh my pancreas. I have to get to my girlfriend's apartment." He began to shuffle down the hall.

"Nijo!" Wade whined. "Why do you always do this, you jerk?!"

Nijo smirked and flipped Wade off before slipping into the apartment.

Wade sighed and rested his head against the wall. Bob walked past carrying a small bucket of ice and sharing a laugh with the albino girl.

"Wade?"

Wade turned to look. "Oh. Hey, Bob. Hey... You."

The girl rolled her eyes.

"No offense, but you look terrible. What happened?" Bob asked.

"It's a long story, Bob. A very long story." Wade said.

"Oh. Well, did you hear about our new neighbor?" Bob asked.

"New neighbor?"

"She lives below us." The albino girl said. "And she's about our age."

"Makes a change from the teenagers." Wade shrugged. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah. Her name's Vanessa. She just started at Stan Lee today." Bob said.

"Vanessa?" Wade smirked.

"Don't even think about what I think you're thinking, Wade."

"Shut up, Bob." Wade snapped.

"Okay." Bob said meekly.

"This is how you treat your friends?" The albino girl asked.

"No... You." I really need to learn her name. "I just had a bad day's all."

"You've been in a fight. But it looks like the person who you fought with exhibited some restraint. That means it was a friend. But judging by the state of your knuckles, you didn't show the same restraint. You've also been using duct tape-or have been duct taped yourself. Your clothes are sticky. That and you have duct tape on your shoulder." The albino girl said, ripping off a piece of duct tape from Wade's shoulder.

"Geez, go easy, Sherlock Holmes." Wade said sarcastically.

"It's called 'paying attention', Wade." Albino girl scoffed.

"Is it true?" Bob asked. "Did you fight with Nate?"

"What makes you think it was Nathan?!" Wade asked exasperatedly.

"Because it wasn't me and Weasel's been off sick. Therefore it can only be Nate." Bob said.

"Oh, whatever, Watson." Wade muttered. "Yes... I got into a fight with Nathan Summers. Yes, he duct taped me. Yes, I broke his nose." He frowned as he realized something. "Wait, I thought albino people were supposed to have shitty eyesight?"

The albino girl shook her head. "I'm not albino! Why do people keep calling me that?!"

"Maybe because you have super pale skin and white hair?" Wade shrugged.

"Do you even know my name or do you just call me 'that albino girl'?" She asked.

"No! Of course I know your name!" Wade said exaggeratedly.

"Really? What is it?" She folded her arms.

"Uh... Sandra?"

She frowned.

"Polly? Lucy? Emma? Eliza?" Wade paused. "Bea?"

With each name, the girl only got more irate. "Not even close." She said with gritted teeth. "It's actually Neena."

"Neena! Neena! I knew that, Neena! You should have given me a chance to say it, Neena. So how are you doing, Neena? Good? Great, Neena, really great. I'm gonna go now, Neena." Wade said, walking backwards down the hall. "But it sure has been great seeing you, Neena!" He knocked on a door. "You too, Bob. Bye, Neena! Bye! Bye Bob! Bye again, Neena!"

"Shut up!" Neena shouted.

Wade simply nodded as an older woman with sunglasses answered the door with a long white cane in her hand.

"Hey, Blind Al." Wade greeted.

"Wade. Never can just call me Al, can you?" She asked sarcastically. "Come on in, then." She held her door open and Wade darted inside.

"Of all my neighbors, Al is surely my favorite. Sarcastic and sadistic, but she likes me too. I think." He said as he headed straight to her kitchen. "Whenever I'm in hospital-a lot-Al will come to see me. Well, not literally 'see' as she's blind. Would've thought that'd be obvious with a name like Blind Al. Then again, can't be too PC these days. She'd visit me, then." He foraged through her fridge and began to make himself a cheese sandwich.

"She's also my most frequent babysitter. That's not to say Scantily Clad Sandi, Sexy Cowgirl Inez, Demon Girl, or that girl... I forget her name, but I'm pretty sure she's black? Maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, they babysit me too, but as a retired, widowed pensioner with nothing better to do, Al just... Does it most often."

With his sandwich finished, Wade went into the living room and sat himself down next to Al, who was sitting down on the couch listening to the TV.

"So, Blind Al. How you doing?" Wade asked.

"Well, I'm still blind, if that's what you're asking." Al replied. "Wade... Why do you smell of urine and blood?"

"It's a long story, Blind Al." Wade sighed. "I don't really want to talk about it." And you don't want to hear about it.

"Wade. You can't keep anything from me." Al said. "Come on. What's up?"

"I got in a fight at school." Wade said.

"A fight?" Al grabbed the remote control and turned the TV off. "Wade, this is serious."

"It was only with Nathan Summers." Wade said sulkily.

"He's your friend with the missing arm, isn't he?"

"He's also missing an eye." Wade muttered.

"What happened?"

"What happened is I don't want to talk about it." Wade huffed. "Now put Maude back on."

"I was watching Golden Girls, Wade." Al said.

"Then put Maude on then, Blind Al. For god's sake, for an old blind lady, you're more useless than a chocolate coffeepot."

"Good afternoon to you too, Wade." Al said sarcastically.

"If you must know, there's an election going on at school. I want to vote for Tony Stark-"

"The inventor Howard Stark's son?" Al asked.

"Yeah, that's him." Wade said. "But Nathan wanted to vote for Steve. And then I tried to punch him, but he punched me. And I punched him. And he punched me. And I broke his nose. And he knocked me out and duct taped me up for hours and then Heimdall the security dude found me and I peed."

"In your pants?"

"Yeah." Wade said with a sigh.

Al shook her head. "Then you'd better stand up, Wade, because I don't want pee all over my couch. Seems to me like this whole bust up with Nate could have been avoided if you hadn't been a complete arse and tried to punch him first."

"I thought you were on my side here, Blind Al." Wade stood up defensively.

"I'm on nobody's side. I'm not in school like you." Al snorted. "I did all my schooling back when the dinosaurs were around."

"Screw you, Switzerland." Wade snapped. He stormed off to Al's bathroom and locked himself inside.

Al shook her head and turged the TV back on.

* * *

Over at the Summers apartment, things weren't any easier. Chris and Kate were sitting on the couch in complete silence, Chris with his head in his hands. It was a while before someone spoke up and that someone was Chris.

"Why did Nathan get into this fight?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know, Chris."

"Any little stress could bring back-"

"Don't say it. I don't want to hear you say it." Kate said.

"And he goes and gets into fights." Chris raised his head. "What was he thinking?"

"I don't know." Kate said again. "Unlike our son, I'm not telepathic."

"He's nearly died three times, Kate. Last month when his powers manifested, six years ago when he got meningitis and when he was a baby. That's when we had to-"

"Send him away." Kate said with a nod. "I remember. It's hard not to forget sending your baby two thousand years into the future. Do you think we should tell Nathan about that?"

"Do you think he's mature enough to handle it?" Chris asked in return.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Kate said. "Maybe it's best to wait before we tell him about... His earliest years."

Chris nodded in response. "With all the trouble after Nathan, why did we have more children?"

"Because we wanted more children." Kate replied.

"And is six children enough?" Chris asked with a small smile.

"Six children is enough." Kate said with a nod. "Especially when you've got only one kid like Nathan."

"Well technically-"

"Don't say it, Chris. We have six children. There's nobody else out there like Nathan. He is an original."

"I don't deny that." Chris said. "I just wonder what happened to the other-"

"We have to agree to keep that from Nathan as well. He can't know about-"

"And he won't." Chris said, quietly pulling his wife in for a hug.

The two sat in silence until Scott entered the room.

"What's... What's going on here?" Scott asked.

"Nothing." Kate said. "We were just discussing Nathan." Technically that was true. "Why are you here?"

"No reason. I'm just hungry."

"Go and get some fruit from the kitchen." Chris said.

Nathan then walked into the room. He had his glass eye removed in favour of a gauze gently taped over the eye. His face was heavily bruised and was swollen so badly that he had trouble opening the other eye and his nose had medical tape holding it in place.

"Mom? Dad?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan, what are you doing?" Kate rose to her feet. "You need to rest!"

"It's a broken nose, Mom, not a broken leg." Nathan shook his head. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"That's true, actually. I'm hungry."

"You too?" Chris asked.

"Yeah. We're all hungry." Alex said from the doorway. Gabe, Rachel and Hope were behind him.

"You took Nathan to the hospital instead of feeding us." Gabe said.

"He needed to go-look at his face." Chris snapped.

"Nice one, Dad." Nathan rolled his eye.

"He was fine!"

"He had to have an operation." Chris glared at his oldest son.

"You could have fed us first."

"Gabriel, if it had been you, we would not have hesitated to have taken you to the hospital. Why should we not do the same for Nathan?"

"Chris, maybe you should calm down." Kate said.

Chris nodded. "Yeah."

"You don't care about the rest of us as much as you do for your precious Nathan!" Gabe shouted. "And you just keep on proving it!"

"That's it! Go to your room!" Kate shouted. "I don't want to hear a peep from you for the rest of the night!"

"That's not fair!"

"You saying we should have denied your brother medical attention is not fair!" Chris shouted. "Do as your mother says and go to your room!"

"That's child abuse!" Gabe stamped his foot.

"Go!" Kate and Chris shouted in unison.

Gabe turned to his younger brother. "Come on, Scott, back me up!"

Scott looked away from his brother and down to the floor.

Gabe looked down at his youngest brother. "Alex?"

Alex shrugged and walked into the room, holding Nathan's flesh arm.

"Rachel, back me up here."

"Leave Nathan alone." Rachel said. "It's not his fault he's sick and has to keep going to hospital. It's not his fault he got into a fight. He was just defending himself."

"Yeah!" Hope glared at her oldest sibling with a scowl planted firmly on her face. "Leave Nathan alone!"

"You're fighting a battle that's already been lost here." Chris said calmly. "Go to your room."

Gabe glared at all his siblings in turn. "I hate you all. Nobody's ever on my side." He physically and violently pushed Alex out of the way as he stormed off to his room.

Alex landed on the floor in shock.

Scott rushed over to his youngest brother and helped him up. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alex nodded.

"You can stay there for the rest of the week for pushing over your brother!" Kate shouted after Gabe.

"Fuck you!" Gabe shouted back.

Kate gasped in shock.

"That's it! You're grounded for two weeks! No video games, no TV and no Barney Barton!" Chris shouted.

"Whatever." Gabe slammed his bedroom door.

"What on earth is with him lately?" Kate asked.

"He's twelve." Chris shook his head. "Coming up to that magical age called 'puberty'. All teenagers are self absorbed horrible people." He turned to his kids. "Don't be like Gabe. Don't let your teenage hormones get the better of you. So... Takeout pizza?" He took out his phone.

 _It's always the same in this house. Something happens, Gabe snaps and we all end up getting takeout pizza. It's just more common now that he's almost 13_. Nathan sat down on the couch next to where Scott had sat down. _If I ever turn out like Gabe, I think I'd rather be sent to a desert island somewhere._

"Okay, pizza's all ordered!" Chris announced. "We just need to wait." He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. "Oh, look, Star Trek's on. When I was a kid..."

 _Same old story_. Nathan sighed. _Dad watched Star Trek and it made him want to go out to explore space. But he never did. Never gets old, that story._ He put his head in his hand and rested his elbow on the armrest.

Chris saw Nathan and bent down to him. "Nathan, if you're tired, you should go to bed."

"Don't want to deal with Gabe." Nathan mumbled.

Chris gave a weak smile. "I don't blame you, Nathan. He's not been very nice today."

 _Truth be told, it's not just Gabe. I just don't want to be alone with my own thoughts. I don't want to think about the fight I had with Wade_. Nathan shifted in his seat.

"So why did you get into that fight?" Chris asked.

 _So much for that_. Nathan sighed.

"Nathan."

"I don't know." Nathan shrugged. _Actually, I do know_. "We had a disagreement."

"What kind of disagreement?"

"Politics." Nathan admitted.

"I hope this is a warning for you to never discuss politics and religion, Nathan. Not even with your friends. And I want you to stay away from that Wade Wilson."

"Dad!" Nathan sat bolt upright. "No!"

"Yes!" Chris said. "It's the only way to prevent another incident of this nature. We can't afford for you to get into another fight, Nathan. We can't lose you again."

Nathan stared ahead in bemusement as Chris pulled him in for a hug.

 _This is going to be a long week_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Wade's neighbours are Agency X members Agent X, Sandi, Outlaw, Hydra Bob and Mary Zero and of course, Copycat, Domino, Shiklah and Blind Al. There's one I didn't quite introduce and that's Taskmaster, who's 12. He wanted to watch Maude because he loves Bea Arthur. And up to now, I've had the others mention that Wade talks to himself, so here he is talking to himself and being Deadpool like.
> 
> Also, you might want to pay attention to Nathan being sent to the future in his past because it explains why he's dying in the future.
> 
> Only one more chapter left of Civil War and then we'll get back to regularly scheduled programming.


	7. Civil War Part VI

A week after the results of the election came through and things couldn't have been more tense in the Summers apartment. Tony had won the so-called 'Civil War' and Nathan was going to have to admit he had telekinetic abilities to the world. Not that he ever even tried very hard to hide it to begin with.

"Nathan, come on." Chris walked into his son's shared room and sat on his bed. "I know you don't want to tell the world you have powers but-"

"You're right. I don't." Nathan said. "Tony Stark was totally wrong."

"Well, maybe in a few years, you'll realise this was for the best."

"Something like this could never be for the best, Dad, are you not familiar with the Nazis? They're the most glaringly obvious example of something like this. They forced the Jews to mark themselves out as Jews by making them wear the Star of David. Then when Hitler declared war, the Nazis rounded up any and everyone wearing the Star of David and sent them to Concentration Camps where they were gassed and killed. The same thing then happened with anyone deemed to be a Communist during the Cold War. They sent them to jail without trial, even if they weren't communists-not that there's anything inherently wrong with communism or socialism. Or any ism. Isms bore me. But that's not what we're talking about here. You know Walt Disney worked for the CIA and the FBI to expose Communists? What the hell was anyone even thinking back then? Or now. Because that sort of thing, it's happening now with Muslims, you know, ever since 9/11. Muslims are getting targeted and blamed for every so-called 'act of terror' when the vast majority of Muslims are innocent of any crime. It's like the Quran says-'kill a man it is as if you have killed all of mankind, but save a man and it is as if you have saved all of mankind'. And now they want to do the same to me because I'm a mutant? It's wrong, Dad."

Chris simply stayed sat on Nathan's bed with his jaw partly open, not quite sure what to say to his son. He didn't know that his son knew all that. _He_ didn't even know all that. How did his son even know what was in the Quran?. "Yes. Well..."

"I paid attention in History class." Nathan said with a small sigh.

"You, uh, you'd make a good lawyer, Nathan."

"Yeah. Mrs Rael says that too." Nathan nodded.

"It's unfair, but you have to-"

"No I _don't_. I don't want to. I shouldn't _have_ to. This is an infringement on my civil liberties!"

Chris never imagined that last sentence would come from his son's mouth at ten years old.

* * *

(May 22 1944)

"You remember our life, Wade?" Nathan asked. "Growing up? My parents kept lies from me. That's how I ended up in this position."

"What? Having an evil kid and a-" Wade began.

"Yes, Wade."

"Well... So do I." Wade said. "Well, not quite the same."

"Yes, thanks. That's enough."

"Nate, you just left me. And suddenly you're in your fifties. I'm thirty, man. I thought you wanted to make things work."

"Wade, my sister is the Phoenix Force." Nathan began. "And my sister-daughter. And so is my sister-in-law-slash-mother. You know, cosmic destruction and all that. Remember how we were convinced that Johann Schmidt was a neo-Nazi and now he's the Red Skull?"

"Yeah."

"Well... I've been travelling through time to stop someone even worse. An immortal tyrant who tried to kill me as a baby. Because it was my destiny to stop him."

"Holy shit, Nate, are you Jesus?"

"Pretty sure Jesus didn't have an evil clone or a child." Nathan muttered. "Or a _boyfriend_."

"Is that what we are? Because I'm pretty sure that you just upped and left one day for-oh about twenty-five years. Got married. Had a son. Turned him evil. You came after me because your wife died. But during that twenty-five years, you forgot all about me. Now answer my question properly, Nathan Summers, are you dying?"

Nathan sighed. "Yes."

"Holy shit. For real?" Wade asked in concern.

"Yes." Nathan repeated.

"Like... For really real-"

"Yes, Wade, I am dying."

"Cancer?" Wade asked cautiously. He took off his mask, exposing his scarred skin.

"I-you could say that." Nathan said. "It's called the Techno-Organic Virus. It's basically metal spreading all over my body trying to kill me." He pulled up his sleeve to show his metal arm.

"You've had that fake arm almost as long as I've known you." Wade said.

"It's not fake anymore. It's real. I can feel things with it." Nathan slowly rolled up his trouser leg, showing the shining silver metal on his leg. "Same with this. And this." He untucked his t-shirt from his trousers to show the same silver metal over the left side of his torso.

"Holy crap, Nate." Wade couldn't say much else. He was simply in shock.

"It's even in my hair, Wade." Nathan took his scarf off and Wade caught a glimpse of the metal on his neck before Nathan bent over to show Wade his head which, sure enough, the metal was spread all over his scalp. "I'm dying." He said. "And I need your help."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that's sort of a dig at Donald Trump. And the communist thing was called McCarthyism. Because of Joe McCarthy who was a capitalist extremist paranoid of anyone so much as even sharing. They weren't called Witch Hunts for no reason.


	8. Cable's Origin

Nathan walked into his family's home and dumped his backpack on the floor. Since his falling out with Wade, they just didn't talk anymore and so Nathan focused all his energy into his superheroics.

"How was your day, Nathan?" Kate asked.

"Fine. We had like... Fifteen new additions to Superhero Class. All because of stupid Tony and his stupid rule." Nathan huffed. "Everyone knows each other. Everyone knows who has powers now. Like I said, it's an infringement on my civil liberties."

"Well, it might be for the best, Nathan." Chris said.

Nathan was about to answer, when he noticed something off about his parents. Their behavior. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Nathan." Chris insisted. "There's nothing wrong-"

"You're acting funny." Nathan frowned. "Something's wrong. Did Grandma Deb die?"

Chris and Kate shared a glance.

Kate gave a nod and sat down on the couch.

Chris sat down on the other side of her.

"Nathan." Chris said, sitting the boy between him and Kate. "It's time we told you the truth."

"What truth?" Nathan asked, wishing that Principal Xavier hadn't taken away his ability to read minds.

"Nathan, honey..." Kate sighed. "You _aren't_ our son."

Chris and Kate could practically see the cogs turning in Nathan's brain as he thought about what that could mean.

"You mean..." He began, "I'm adopted?"

"Yes... And no." Chris said. "We agreed to take you in. To raise you. Unlike Hope, you have Summers blood in you."

"I'm not the son of Uncle-"

"No." Kate shook her head. "You're not."

"So who's son _am_ I?" Nathan asked.

Chris bit his lip. "You're Scott's." He said simply. "And Jean Grey's."

Nathan frowned. "No. I'm not."

"You _are_." Kate said. "We're your grandparents."

"Scott's only a year older than me, it doesn't make sense! It doesn't-"

"No, it doesn't." Chris admitted. "But hear us out."

"It was a dark night, the night you were brought to us." Kate said. "Gabriel and Scott were in bed when there was a knock at the door. A man-a huge, hulking man with a nasty frown, bulging muscles, a metal arm and an upsetting amount of large guns-was cradling, in his arms, a baby. Swaddled in blankets."

"The man told us that his name was Cable." Chris said. "And that he was here because he chose us as people who could look after the baby. I took the baby and Cable said that the baby's name was Nathan Christopher Charles Summers." He paused. "Then he took off. Disappeared in a flash of blue light to who knows where."

"We called the only person who could help us at this point-Charles Xavier. He zoomed here on his wheelchair as fast as he could when he heard. Then he told us that you had the X-Gene that causes mutant powers." Kate explained. "So a few months pass-maybe two-and we were juggling three kids, all under the age of three. It came as a huge surprise when metal tentacles erupted from your left side."

"Almost on cue, a woman appeared in our living room with the same flash of blue light. This one called herself Mother Askani. She said she could help you and so she took us all-you, me and your mother to the future. We only left Gabriel and Scott because she promised that it she'd return us seconds after she left." Chris said.

"We saw horrible things in the future. Things that will become a part of your future because we learned that Mother Askani was... Your sister, Rachel." Kate said. "She had you cloned. Twice. Because she was worried that you wouldn't survive."

"Survive what?" Nathan asked sceptically.

"Before Cable left you in our care, you had been injected with something called the Techno-Organic Virus." Chris explained. "It caused your skin and bones and everything underneath to turn to fully living, organic metal. You were a cyborg baby. And you are a cyborg now. That metal lives inside you. It will never go away and it _will_ kill you. You're not only a cyborg, Nathan, you're terminally ill."

"What... What happened next?" Nathan asked, not sure he wanted to hear what was coming next.

"The guy who injected you with the virus was called Apocalypse. He stole one of your clones." Kate said. "We don't know what happened to him. But the second clone wasn't needed because you survived. That was when we learned that you were Scott and Jean's son and you'd grow up to become the man called Cable. We brought you back to the past and gave the second clone to the Greys."

"Nate Grey." Nathan mumbled.

Kate nodded. "Yes."

"You said Rachel's my sister...?"

"She is." Chris said.

"She was given to us in almost the same way you were." Kate said.

"And so was Hope." Chris added. "Cable referred to her as 'my daughter'. So Hope is-"

" _My_ daughter." Nathan finished.

"Your _adopted_ daughter." Kate said. "Cable said he had adopted her and was on the run from a mutant named Bishop who wanted to kill her and asked would we look after her. Naturally, we said yes."

"Does anyone else know this stuff?"

"Charles Xavier." Chris said. "That's why he took you all on at his school."

"It's a school for children with super powers, Nathan." Kate said. "Every single one of you at that school has super powers or has latent super powers. Either that or they're in MENSA."

"That doesn't explain Clint Barton."

"Ah, well... Xavier's always grooming out the next generation of spies for SHIELD." Chris chuckled.

"Shield is real?" Nathan blinked.

"And Hydra." Chris added.

So Steve had named his pretend organisations Shield and Hydra because he'd heard them before. That made sense.

"And Nathan," Kate said in a warning tone, "stay away from Hydra. They're nothing but Nazis. Every last one of them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm touching on Cable's origin here. The next few chapters will focus more on Wade. Then, I promise, Wade will get his origin as Deadpool. But it won't be quite like the comics. Because kids.   
> If you also read Marvel Elementary, the concept of Hydra and SHIELD will be further explained later on.


End file.
